Use of Limited Run Knives

I've been thinking about this since I ordered one of Doug's new RSK Mk2 Perseverance fixed blade knife ...

If you've purchased one of Doug's limited run Mk1 knives (with M2 or M4 steel), or with the soon-to-ship Mk2, - or any other really nice limited run knife - do you use those knives as you would the standard Mk1 (or any great knife), OR do you leave it unused and pristine, as a collectible?

Hi. My name is Ken, and this is where I have to admit that I have both the M2 and M4 Mk1 folders and they remain essentially unused and pristine personal treasures.

My regular & mini Mk1's get used a LOT, as does my fixed blade Mk3, but the limited run blades are stowed carefully away in my treasure box. Now I'm kind of bugged that I'll do the same thing with the Mk2.

It would be kind of a like buying a Chevy Corvette and leaving it in a garage so it doesn't get worn or damaged (insurance-related issues aside).

Silly eh?!! Are there any other closet knife hoarders out there?

I use, and collect knives, and have since 4th grade when I received my first one as a gift!

I have used every knife I own. Some sit more than others but I`m not afraid to use any.

If I don't use it I sell it, and get one I like that I would use more.

knives = tools. Tools get used. But if collecting is your bag, knives make a lot more sense as collectibles than teapots, IMHO....

If you buy knives as an investment or art object you will want them to remain in mint condition.

I buy knives to use. I remember an interview with a knife-maker, Pauly I believe, and his take was that even though his custom knives are held as art pieces he considers a knife that goes unused as a waste. He makes them to be used. He said that he considers a knife that has been used hard, shows wear, and sharpened to a fraction of its original length to be beautiful.

He made his reputation making knives using exotic materials and highly polished blades but with this realization, and a certain level of financial security, he shifted to less flashy materials matte finishes and single color micarta handles.

I confess that I also have a few knives that have never seen the bush. Some are limited edition knives, others are ones that I ordered online that did not feel right in my hand after they arrived, they are unused as they will be sold/traded off.

Picked up 2 SAK's over Christmas, a Farmer and a My First Victorinox Plus, both were about half price!

Yesterday I ordered a GB Wildlife Hatchet, a classic carbon Mora with a lower gaurd, a Mora Two-Handed Push/Draw Knife and some sharpening supplies.

Mike (I admit have a problem)

I buy knives for both collecting and use. Some of my knives are works of art that could be carried, but I won't because they are art. Others are simply limited editions with different blade or handle material and those are available for the right occasion.

My RSK's are all users. I had two of the RSK in M2, carried one, kept the second as back-up. Both retired now that the M4 version is out. One of my EDC knives is an RSK in S30V -- no collectible there.

My name is Doug and I hoard knives.

I do have an minor advantage, but since I only get one of my own knives free, I always buy another one to use. Prototypes get well-used and abused, of course.

I do have a handful of safe-queens that I hold onto that have come into my possession or that I have bought. Mostly rare knives, short runs or "last of" knives, that I couldn't resist or were given to me and I want to keep unused for the reason given.

I have a couple in my collection I haven't used. Some are SAKs that are destined to be taken apart for custom work if I every have a workspace. Others are my dressy ones- those get carried when I dress up, which is basically never, but on the occasion they are what I have in my pocket they are what I'll use.

If I get a Mk2 (thinking about it), I'll carry it. It might not get used as much as some of my other knives, becuase I wouldn't keep it in the truck and most of my off the blacktop trips are kind of off the cuff, but for planned trips it might just make me leave the Ka-Bars at home.

Man o' man. I have dozens of knives, but will state that I rotate the vast majority of my folders. The fixed don't get out much.

Excellent point. And timely as just yesterday I was among many admiring a friend's English teapot collection. Pretty but so fragile and useless (unless you wear your teapots out).

If I had the last twenty years to do over, I'd have less art and more knives (some of which are art, IMHO).

Doug's knives are all users. Good-looking but not garage queens. I have the MK1s (reg and mini and even the pink), MK3 (a handsome knife but so perfect for actually being used that I carry it in my daypack and car kit), MK4 (elegant and suitably at home in my purse where it will rarely be needed). Have so many MK5s I've lost count -- they're in wallets, backpacks, purses, PSKs, bike bag... My hesitations with the MK2 have been that it's not as sleek, looks a tad tacticool and larger than I've thought I need (have a Golok and many hatchets) yet I still gaze at it occasionally.....

My Barkies are garage queens -- too pretty to scuff when I have so many other knives to use. And quite heavy compared to the MK3 -- which makes far more sense to carry.

Thank goodness for Moras -- my first-line fixed blades, backups, loaners and gifts. If they are lost, broken or stolen, I won't cry. Would be steamed, but not heartbroken.

For a noncollector, I have quite a few knives...and as for teapots, we only have one, properly English, but then there are my pieces of Pueblo pottery, perhaps not the best choice for earthquake country....

i went thru a buying spree about 15 years ago when my old favorite canoeing knife was sort of beat.i was getting three or four a year.some worked out,some made one trip or never left the house but i never got a knife as a collectors item.ok..now about those stoves i bought as collectors items--------

Izzy -- are those local knife laws or state?

What you decide to collect is a highly personal decision. I don't view the knives mentioned in the original post as being collector items. I would want to USE each of them, but that's my personal opinion, to each his own.

that is an interesting tangent here. We have a pretty lenient carry policy in AZ but know its harsher elsewhere. Like most all of us here, I carry a folder(s) in my EDC, in my pocket, glovebox, map holder on my door, small one in each of my running packs, etc, and have considered how that would play out if asked by an LEO if I had anything sharp on me.

So a while back while eating someplace I came across a couple local LEO's and decided to ask them their opinion. It was a good conversation but basically they stated as long as I was not suspected of a crime, justed being patted down for safety, then having a modest folder in my pocket or backpack would not be seen as illegal or improper. Meaning, a general pat down was one thing, being taken into custody for committing a non-vehicular crime something else.

They also took into account the location of the blade on me and type. The actually liked my RSK Mk1 in my pocket but again situation dictates how most LEO would react to it. However if it (or any other folder or multi like Leatherman or SAK) was found zipped up in my EDC pouch inside my backpack, they wouldn't care as long as it was obviously being considered as one tool in a preparedness kit by the user and a not readily deployable weapon.

YMMV where you live and the LEO you interact with.

Apparently being caught with some unpasteurized organic raw milk is a much more serious crime (Federal ?) than carrying an illegal knife under local jurisdiction laws.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcGuAfX_yJU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTi9ofo3QDo

Perhaps the local gangs will move out of illicit guns, crack cocaine, Crystal Meth etc and move into illicit home grown organic plums and cabbages.

My brother and I just divided my late father's knife collection. He didn't own a single pristine "safe queen" knife. Every single one had the blade reprofiled ("convex edge" style). He spent more time sharpening and polishing than he ever did using knives. The only value any of them hold for me is sentimental. He didn't collect valuable knives. Even the two he considered the most valuable are probably under $50.

Me? I have a mix of abused knives (mostly cheap junk) from my youth and ones I've inherited. Those only have sentimental value. I have some decent knives that I've used regularly but retired - mostly Spydercos, Benchmade, and SAKs. Those don't have much value except sentimental either. Then I have some barely touched knives that I just haven't had a reason to use yet. None of them are collectible but probably held their value.

At my peak of knife-collecting, I bought a Chris Reeve Sebenza, but it's the only knife I ever sold. I couldn't bear to carry and use a folder that's that expensive and it didn't make sense to me to keep a knife like that locked away in a box. It was nice to have, but wasn't much of an investment.

I do have one "limited-edition" SAK - a gift from my wife. I don't know what the hell to do with it. I can't see it really appreciating in value, but I can't bring myself to use it either. Probably going to have to sell it.


On the knife law thing, I've never had a problem in all my years in Florida. I've carried up to 4" tactical folders clipped inside my pocket around officers from many law enforcement agencies dozens of times in different situations. Nobody's ever asked me about my knife except when I'm flying.

Wow! Yet one more reason why I love Arizona. The knife laws are so loose I could carry my Ontario SP8 Machete out in public (legally) and would except I would get a lot of funny looks.lol. The same with gun laws, you don't even need a permit to CC a handgun! It is Awesome!
Adventureboy

I don't think I am exaggerating that every other day I see someone open carry (sidearm) in Phoenix.